ERGypsyRN

I am sort of in the same boat. My husband and I are traveling right now. I just finished up a 6 month contract, just in time for our 1st child to be born! Due March 29th! We also have two dogs and plan on continuing to travel once the baby is born. It works for us because my husband can work from home and be an "at home dad" while I can make the same amount of money as both of us working full time. We like to drive where we go. For one...dogs, two it seems like part of the adventure is being on the road. This may be a little more difficult with a hungry little one in the back seat. What the heck though, we are going to try! With most companies I believe you can get insurance from the 1st day of your assignment. You may just check into that. That is how mine worked. As far as your housing options, I have never felt unsafe in any of our agency placements. (other than they tried to put us at an extended stay at the airport once) We quickly took stipend and found our own place.) We do tons of research to make sure we are being put into a good area. Check out travelnursehelp.com. There's some good information on there when you are planning an assignment. It has helped me make decisions about specific areas where I was offered a job. It has crime rates and you can view surrounding areas. I wish you the best of luck. I say "Go for the Gold!" (Even with a little one!)

My husband and I travel together. My pay is enough to cover both his lost wages and my salary. The housing stipend alone is just about what he made before we decided to travel. Right now he is working to develop some websites to bring in some money. For now it works great for us. He will soon be a "stay at home" and we will actually save money that we would have had to spend on a day care and even better...one of us will get to be with the baby full time. Works out great for us. I am completing a 6 month contract right now and he has worked at a local factory just for extra money. This is the first time he has done that, but since it was a 6 month contract it made sense.

It is a little easier for us too because my husband works from home. He is able to give them the attention they need every day. It's quite an adjustment for them. They are a little more conditioned to the ever changing lifestyle, but at first they had a lot of stress issues. We usually try not to leave them alone the first week or so once we move just so they can adjust. Seems to help. California-Redondo Beach- was one of the places we had a hard time finding an apartment that allowed dogs. Just plan ahead if you decide to go there and do your own housing. (Also, take LOTS OF FRONTLINE! Fleas were so terrible there!):)

The worst part about housing with having the dogs is just finding an apartment that will accept them! A lot of places have a NO pet policy, you have to pay an extra monthly fee per pet, and/or a pet deposit up front. Some places also have breed/weight restrictions. This doesn't usually pertain to us because our Lhasa Apsos and If you plan on having your agency provide your housing at any point, if they are aware of your dog(s) they will find appropriate housing. At least mine does. I had to pay a one time fee with the agency of $600 for pets, but that was refundable after the 1st assignment. Now they just know we travel with pets and plan accordingly. Hope this helps.

It sounds like you are in a great position to start traveling. It's a big decision, but I can tell you from my experience...it's the best decision I ever made. It has been a great learning experience and a great adventure. You can always start, do one assignment, see how it goes and if you like it...then decide from there. This is my opinion only, but no matter what agency you choose to go with you have to have a connection with the recruiter. I started out with one company/recruiter after a year of trying to get a job with no offers, I decided to switch companies. My new recruiter is amazing. She really listens to what I want and seems to be on my side. I think a recruiter can make or break your experience. Talk to different recruiters and don't lock into anyone. Find someone that listens to your needs. As far as housing...I have only had one experience where they were going to put me, my husband, with 2 dogs in an extended stay hotel at the airport. For us, you can imagine...this was NOT an option. We wound up taking the stipend last minute and found our own apartment. Keep in mind that when you take stipend you are responsible for finding a place willing to let you do a short term lease, you have to pay security deposits and most likely the first months rent prior to moving in. Not to mention pay for utilities etc. I'm not saying it's not doable-we have done this several times. Most of the time we are given a 1 bedroom apartment and they have been pretty decent. Check out travelnursehelp.com there are some good articles there about traveling and about how to get started. Best of luck with your travels!

This has always been a dream of my husband's and mine. We travel, but have never made the RV a reality. There seems to be so many positives to having an RV. One of the big ones-not having to pack and unpack every new assignment and using stipend money to pay off the RV. A couple of bad things are cost of driving the RV and also you would have to be careful about jobs you accept d/t the fact that there may not be an RV park close to your assignment.